10. In a Word - Housebroken
With most family members gone during the work week for
8 hours or more, housetraining a puppy and its small bladder can take a while.
Puppies need a consistent schedule with frequent opportunities to eliminate
where you want them to. They can’t wait for the boss to finish his meeting or
the kids to come home from after school activities. An older lab can “hold it”
much more reliably for longer time periods, and usually the rescue has
housebroken the Labs before they are adopted.
9. Matching Socks
With a “chewy” puppy, you can count on at least 10
mismatched pairs of socks and a variety of unmentionables rendered to the “rag
bag” before he cuts every tooth. You can also expect holes in your carpet
(along with the urine stains), pages missing from books, stuffing exposed from
couches, and at least one dead remote control. No matter how well you watch
them, it will happen - this is a puppy’s job! An older dog can usually have the
run of the house without destroying it.
8. A Good Night’s Sleep
Forget the alarm clocks and hot water bottles, a puppy
can be very demanding at 2am and 4am and 6am. He misses the warmth and
companionship of his litter-mates and that stuffed animal you gave him will not
make a puppy pile. If you have children, you’ve been there and done that. How
about a little peace and quiet? How about an older rescue Lab?
7. Finish the Newspaper
With a puppy running amok in your house, do you think
you will be able to relax when you get home from work? Do you think your kids
will really feed him, clean up the messes, and take him for a walk in the pouring
rain every hour to get him housetrained? With an adult dog, it will only be the
kids running amok, because your Labby will be sitting calmly next to you as you
pet him, while your workday stresses flow away and your blood pressure lowers.
6.
Easier Vet Trips
Those puppies need their series of puppy shots and
fecals, then their rabies shot, then a trip to be altered, maybe an emergency
trip or two if they’ve chewed something dangerous. The time and cost of those
vet visits with your puppy can add up (on top of what you paid for the dog).
Your donation to the rescue when adopting an older pup should get you a dog
with all shots current, already altered, heartworm negative and on preventative
medication at the minimum.
5. What You See Is What You Get
How big will that puppy be? What kind of temperament
will he have? Will he be easily trained? Will his personality be what you were
hoping for? How active will he be? When adopting an older dog from a rescue,
all of those questions are easily answered. You can pick large or small; active
or couch potato; goofy or brilliant; sweet or sassy. The rescue and its foster
homes can guide you to pick the right match. (Our rescue is full of puppies who
became the wrong match as they got older!)
4. Unscarred Children (and Adults)
When the puppy isn’t teething on your possessions, he
will be teething on your children and on you. Our rescue routinely gets calls
from panicked parents who are sure their Lab is biting the children. Since
biting implies hostile intent and would be a consideration whether we accept
their give-up, we ask questions and usually find out the dog is being “nippy”
rather than actually biting. Parents are often too emotional to see the
difference; but a growing puppy is going to put everything from food to clothes
to hands in their mouths, and as they get older and bigger it definitely hurts
(and will get worse, if they aren’t being corrected properly, and aren’t being
provided a safe and appropriate alternative chew toy.) Most older Labs have
“been there, done that, moved on.”
3. Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match
Puppy love is often no more than an attachment to a
look or a color, which is not a good to make a decision that could last 15+
years. While that puppy may have been the cutest of the litter, keep in mind
that:
* He may grow up to be super-active (when what you
wanted was a couch buddy).
* She may be a couch princess (when what you wanted was
a tireless hiking companion).
* He may want to spend every waking moment in the
water (while you’re a landlubber).
* She may want to be an only child (while you are
intending to have kids or more animals).
Pet mis-matches are one of the top reasons rescues get
give-up phone calls. Good rescues do extensive evaluating of both their Labs
and their applicants to be sure that both Lab and family will be happy with
each other until the end of the Lab’s life.
2. Instant Companion
With an older Lab, you automatically have a buddy that
can go everywhere and do everything with you NOW. There’s no waiting for a
puppy to grow up (and then hope he will like to do what you enjoy.) You will
have been able to select the most compatible dog: one that travels well; one
that loves to play with your friends’ dogs; one with excellent house manners
that you can take to your parents’ new home with the new carpet and the new
couch. You can come home after a long day’s work and spend your time on a relaxing
walk, ride or swim with your new best friend (rather than cleaning up after a
small puppy.)
1.
Bond, Labby, Bond
Labs who have been uprooted from their happy homes or
have not had the best start in life are more likely to bond very completely and
deeply with their new family. Those who have lost their families through death,
divorce, or lifestyle change go through a terrible mourning process. But, once
attached to a new loving family, they seem to want to please as much as
possible to make sure they are never homeless again. Those Labs that are just
beginning to learn about the good life (and good people) seem to bond even
deeper. They know what life on the streets, life on the end of a chain (or
worse) is all about, and they revel and blossom in a nurturing, loving
environment. Most rescued Labs make exceptionally affectionate and attentive
pets and extremely loyal companions.
(Mary and Doug Clark, Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc.)
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